On Saturday, February 7th of 2009, I had the wonderful privilege of being invited to a multi-stake meeting between Bishops/Stake Presidents and Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was a magnificent meeting. Here are some notes:
Elder Jeffery R Holland: Welcome
Elder Holland spent about 35 minutes thanking us for all the work that we do. He expresses his love and appreciation. He asked us to make sure we show our appreciation to “your people”, the members of the ward, which is where most of the work gets done.
He asked us to tell our wife and family “thanks, from Elder Holland, for letting us get together on a Saturday.” He expressed the need for letting our families get some return on their investment. The time taken away from the family due to the responsibilities of our callings can be difficult. But he indicated that our families are being blessed because of our sacrifice.
With respect to all the callings, responsibilities and hardships we go through to be in the church and with our callings, he said: “However tough it is to be in this church, it’s a lot harder to be out of it.”
We are not CEOs! Our job is to plant the gospel in the hearts of the people! We are disciples of the Lord!
What do we do to build some bodies faith? Everything we do should be to build faith. Jeremiah Chapter 20:1 -
The fire of the spirit has got to burn, in all of our meetings. He asked us to think about how much time we devote to teaching the gospel and building faith. This made me think about the time I spend and how I spend it. Much of my time is spent in administration of the ward. I decided to make a goal to quantify my time and spend more of it teaching, not pushing papers. Much of the paper pushing can be delegated.
Never give a talk without referring to the scriptures!
Elder Claudio R. M. Costa: Economy
Save for the future : A family united can be self reliant. Families are and should be the first level of defense against economic problems.
He quoted President Kimball : “The difference between a wise and a foolish man. A wise man makes $100 a month and spends $99. A foolish man makes $100 a month and spends $101.” A difference of $2 separates a wise man from a foolish man.
The Book of Mormon promises over 200 times: “If you keep my commandments, you shall prosper in the land.”
Today’s big problem is that we need to have everything we see. No self restraint. Products purchased don’t change our lives. Only the gospel can.
Continue to preach the gospel principles. Be positive. The future is bright and it depends on us. A positive person is one who can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dim it is, they can still see it and work towards it. A negative person is one who switches the light off!
Hard work! Don’t expect to receive a gift… work for what you need.
He discussed his childhood and who he started working 40 hours a week when he was 8 years old. He lived though the time when Brazil was going through 3 digit inflation for many years in a row, up to 417% inflation one year alone. It was difficult, but they managed by staying together as a family and working hard to make ends meet.
Elder Nattress : Patterns
Section 52 : patterns in all things
1: If we read to our children every day from the Book of Mormon, we won’t lose them.
2: we need to realize that our family is the most important thing in our lives, our children and grandchildren. He talked about Elder Faust and how, not too long before he passed away, mentioned that he just held his newest grandchild. He broke down multiple times because he knew his time on this earth was short. He said that he would not have a chance to teach that you child the gospel, but he could teach his mother.
3: When Christ came to the Americas, he blessed the children. We need to pray in our families that our wives and children will be blessed.
4: Liken the scriptures unto ourselves. Never rise above the relationship with our wives.
D&C 133:1-4
Elder Jeffrey R Holland: Open Format
“Perfecting the saints” is the one mission of the church that is hard to get a handle on. It is so vast and covers a very big area of doctrine. Elder Holland indicated that if we focus on “Preaching the Gospel” and “Redeeming the Dead” we will be well on our way to perfecting the saints.
Church Discipline:
We have the responsibility to protect the integrity of the church.
President Kimball said: “Cut the bandage to cover the wound.” The level of discipline should be appropriate for the sin.
Start the process early – don’t wait too long. If we let it go, we lose our options, until the only option left is to bring down the guillotine.
1 out of every 5 people excommunicated from the Church actually return to the church. Excommunication should be last resort.
STP – Same Ten People!
Reach out to others. Elder Holland’s father was called from inactivity to teach a Sunday school class. His father was not living the word of wisdom, he was not active, but the Bishop called him to teach. Elder Holland indicated that he was who he was today, because someone took a chance on his dad and called him as a teacher. Great Story!
It takes a very good meeting to be better than not having any meeting at all.
The only organization that we know of that exists in heaven is the family. Our wards and stakes won’t, as far as we know now, exist in heaven.
To make a difference in people’s lives, we need to create spiritual experiences. If they are not coming to the church, then we need to go to their homes.
The spirit needs to be present to have someone overcome an addiction. We should not focus on the behavior. Focusing on doctrine will change behavior faster and more lasting than focusing on the behavior will change the behavior. I believe this was originally from Elder Packard.
Exodus 18:13-19 – Turn the people God-ward.
Missionary work is done in the 1st person, present tense. “I do”
If we make a covenant with the Lord to talk to people about the gospel, He will put them in our way!
A good way to start a conversion about the gospel/church is to use the phrase, “I love the way my church…”
If your children (grandchildren) could only learn about the gospel from you, how much would they learn? This really made me to start thinking about how I am doing in my home. The priesthood holders should be the ones leading the spiritual progress and setting the spiritual tone in the home.
To solve the perspective elders problem, ordain on time!
Elders Quorum Presidents and High Priest group leaders are responsible to interview every member of the quorum. This will reduce the chances of them becoming inactive. Why do return missionaries become inactive, one reason is because on their missions, they have regular PPIs. When they get home, this doesn’t continue and they lose the accountability they had on their missions.
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